The Schmooze lies at the intersection of high and low culture. Here, the latest developments and trends in Jewish art, books, dance, film, music, media, television and theater are all assimilated into one handy pop culture blog.
The Schmooze
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Billy Crystal Plays A Rabbi Who Feels ‘Like A Foreskin’ In This Extremely Jewish Sex Comedy
In the beginning, the Torah says the earth was “tohu vavohu” — a phrase that translates to something like “chaos and futility.” Billy Crystal appearing as a Rabbi in a sex comedy starring a mostly Jewish cast plus the star of “Fifty Shades Of Grey” must be the opposite of tohu vavohu. The Jewish pop…
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Jake Gyllenhaal’s ‘Spider-Man’ Villain Revealed
“Spider-Man,” the story that unspools endlessly like silk from a spider’s internal glands, has released a teaser trailer for its newest installment, “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” And that teaser stars — for a thrilling six seconds — Jake Gyllenhaal. This iteration of the crime-fighting arachnid is the lithesome Brit Tom Holland, who represents Marvel’s first…
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Celebrities Are Doing A Diet Based On A Torah Passage
Film and TV star Chris Pratt announced that he will be going on “the Daniel Fast,” a 21-day partial fast based on a passage in the Book of Daniel, which originates in the “Writings” section of the Hebrew Bible. Pratt, a religious Christian beloved for his starring turns on “Parks And Recreation” and in “Guardians…
The Latest
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How William Shatner Got Guilt-Tripped Over A Hebrew Wikipedia Entry
It’s not every day that a Hollywood star gets guilt-tripped on Twitter for not visiting his Jewish family in Israel, but that’s exactly what happened to William Shatner this week – and it’s all Hebrew Wikipedia’s fault. Shatner has never shied away from his Jewish roots. In fact, the Jewish Canadian Star Trek icon has…
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I Demand Justice For Ousted Jewish ‘Bachelor’ Contestant Jane Averbukh
It was St. Augustine who said, “In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?” And so it is lovers of justice all over this world who must now say, “This season’s Bachelor is an organized robber who has burgled the world our chance to see a 26-year-old Jewish woman win ‘The Bachelor.’”…
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Roseanne Claims Anti-Semitism Played A Part In Her Firing
Roseanne Barr was fired by ABC last May after a tweet that likened former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett to what would happen if the “Muslim Brotherhood & Planet of the Apes had a baby.” This week she told the Jerusalem Post that her abrupt firing was caused in part by anti-Semitism. Said Jewish people everywhere:…
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‘Anti-Semitism Is Alive And Well’ Says Former Adult Film Star Jenna Jameson
(JTA) — Jenna Jameson, who converted to Judaism in 2015, said she is taking “an indefinite break from Twitter” after being attacked for her religion and being a former porn star. “It’s near impossible to just have normal conversations without hundreds of people attacking me for the past I cannot change,” she tweeted Wednesday. Jameson…
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Ivanka and Jared Reportedly Walked Out Of Dick Cheney Biopic ‘Vice’
Date night gone wrong? Over Christmas, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner reportedly walked out of a viewing of “Vice,” the contentious Dick Cheney biopic. The couple observed the Jewish custom of catching a movie on Christmas, but either remembered suddenly that they perhaps shouldn’t be relaxing while the government is shut down or found the…
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Karen Gillan Will Star In Israeli Female Assassins’ Movie
Israeli directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado have realized something many of us have long felt deep in our hearts, yet never found the words to express: People want to see beautiful women murdering evil men and then drinking milkshakes. That is, we assume, roughly the plot of “Gunpowder Milkshake,” a film scripted by Israeli…
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This Israeli Army Thriller On Netflix Is Going To Be The New ‘Fauda’
Nothing’s been the same since the Hebrew and Arabic action-drama “Fauda” proved that — surprise! — the tensest geopolitical struggle of our time makes for pretty decent television. While you wait for the third season of the harrowing Israeli spy show to return, feast your fear hormones on “When Heroes Fly,” a riveting Israeli series…
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Academy Announces: No Oscar Host This Year.
After a serious misstep when intended 2019 Oscar host Kevin Hart was found to have made significant homophobic remarks in the past, this year’s Academy Awards will officially not have a host, Variety reports. Instead, the usual coterie of top stars will introduce individual segme — OH PLEASE. You’re telling me our girl Tiffany Haddish,…
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